Capillin is a naturally occurring

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

with the chemical formula . The structure contains acetophenone and a

polyyne In organic chemistry, a polyyne () is any organic compound with alternating single and triple bonds; that is, a series of consecutive alkynes, with ''n'' greater than 1. These compounds are also called polyacetylenes, especially in the natural p ...

(pentadiynyl) portion, conjugated together as an

ynone In organic chemistry, an ynone is an organic compound containing a ketone () functional group and a triple bond. Many ynones are α,β-ynones, where the carbonyl and alkyne groups are conjugated. Capillin is a naturally occurring example. Som ...

Chemical taxonomy

Capillin is found in the

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

of a number of ''

Artemisia Artemisia may refer to: People * Artemisia I of Caria (fl. 480 BC), queen of Halicarnassus under the First Persian Empire, naval commander during the second Persian invasion of Greece * Artemisia II of Caria (died 350 BC), queen of Caria under th ...

'' species, including ''

Artemisia monosperma ''Artemisia monosperma'' is a species of flowering plant in the wormwood genus ''Artemisia'', family Asteraceae, native to Libya, Egypt, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. It plays an important role in ecological succession Ecological succ ...

'' and ''

Artemisia dracunculus Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herbaceous plant, herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medi ...

'' (tarragon). The substance was initially isolated from ''

Artemisia capillaris ''Artemisia capillaris'', ( zh, 茵陈蒿 yīn chén hāo), is a species of flowering plant in the wormwood genus ''Artemisia'', family Asteraceae. Artemisia capillaris is biennial or perennial herb, 30-80(100) cm tall with vertical, woody roots ...

'' in 1956.

Applications

Capillin is a biologically active substance. It has strong

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as crypto ...

activity, and it is possibly antitumoral. Capillin exhibits cytotoxic activity and could cause

apoptosis Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes incl ...

of certain human tumor cells.

References

{{Reflist Aromatic ketones Alkyne derivatives